Part Three

As he rose invisible into the sky, Aaron was tempted to fly the slow way back to Haven. The weather was that nice. With a resigned sigh, he flew high enough to be above airliner traffic and applied his quick travel power to head west.

* * *

Melody was sitting, staring unseeing at the far wall of her office, when her boss stopped by later that afternoon.

"You look busy."

"I am, actually," she said, raising an eyebrow. "Deep in thought."

The Magic Revealed: A Gifted Saga Story

by

Rodford Edmiston

An excerpt from a novel in progress. I would love comments, especially on the medical matters discussed herein.

Part Eleven

Blue Impact ran into the equipment chamber just as Energia finished cooling the thermite charges below the combustion point. There was some damage, but she thought that most of the equipment would be fit for study. The place was half full of smoke and completely full of odd odors, but an air current from somewhere was already moving all that out.

"Hopefully there's enough left to tell us how to reverse the effects on Stone's test subjects," said Energia.

"Did you see Stone?"

"The only person here ran down that way!"

Part Nine

Vic woke slowly, which was odd. With her level of regeneration, even a powerful narcotic should have worn off quickly once her body began eliminating it. To her alarm, she discovered that she had been stripped and dressed in a paper examination gown. Even her ear bud was gone. She wasn't certain, but from the condition of her hair suspected she'd actually been washed.

"Someone was being thorough," she muttered, her voice hoarse.

Part Seven

"While you were gone we gathered a lot more data on the New Breed," said Blue Impact, once Energia had returned to the old bakery and briefed the others. The team leader was looking very serious. "Turns out they are responsible for at least twenty deaths. The various law enforcement agencies are accused of not hunting them as diligently as they should. That they are holding back because the New Breed has gotten rid of so many costumed villains. However, that lack of attention is now changing.

Part Four

Part Two

"Good afternoon," said Energia, to the group gathered in the meeting room. "I'm here to give you some practical information on super costumes."

This time she was more at ease. Perhaps because the subject was more focused, as well as more familiar. Energia noted that two of The FX team members were in attendance.

Masks XXI: The Musty Museum Murder Mystery

by

Rodford Edmiston

Part One

Energia was flying. There was no set pattern to her movements, and the only limitations were her physical ability to take the gee loads and wind speed, plus the occasional beep her earbud gave to notify Energia that she was nearing a boundary of the safe volume. Propelled and supported by graviton manipulation, she could pull turns which would have shredded an aerobatic plane. She performed a freeform dance in three dimensions, barely constrained by gravity or even inertia.

Part Nine

"Gadgetive, I need to tell me everything you know about those drones," said Blue Impact, once they were underway.

"Why?" said the gadgeteer, puzzled. "They won't use them again; just like they had them here instead of another powerful super standing guard. Masterminds like to change things up. Well, some things..."

"Because this setup was different in other ways, too. Someone had a whole bunch of several series of devices made by the same company through a long span, instead of a few gadgets gathered from different sources."

Part Seven

The trio in Tricorne's large apergy flyer looked down upon the dirty, deeply shadowed streets and alleys with sensors and eyes. Meanwhile, Energia flew nearby, using her own senses away from the insulation of the van-sized pod. Several sources had pegged this city as one location where The Black Badge was currently carrying out his operation. Some claimed he was focusing on this specific neighborhood.

Part Five

"Guess what?" said Blue Impact, a couple of hours later, back at the lair. "Turns out the person who owns the house is the same Emil Logsdon who had to let the police in, years ago. He is part owner of the real estate company which bought the house, which is why there's no record of further transfers. He just had the company say it was waiting for a buyer to develop the property, in order to head off complaints about the house not fitting with the rest of the neighborhood. I guess he took it over as a private project. Or maybe as a memorial to his friend."

Part Three

Masks XX: The Mystery of the Mechanical Master

by

Rodford Edmiston

Part One

The video conference call was unusual in more aspects than the fact that all three participants were wearing costumes with masks. The members of Tricorne were planning yet another Spring Break together. However, this time the youngest member was proposing something different from previous teamups.

I'm about a quarter of the way finished with the next Masks story. Meanwhile, here's something I wrote a few years ago.

X-World: Fitting In

Part One: Acts of Terror

by

Rodford Edmiston

This story is set in the world of the first two X-Men movies, not long after the second one ends. The world and some of the characters belong to Marvel; the story and the rest of the characters are mine.

I'm sorry this is a bit late. I kept feeling dissatisfied and re-writing. It felt too passive. Finally, as I lay in bed waiting for sleep, I realized a solution. I started on it first thing this morning. This is the result.

The Angel of Chicago

Part Seventeen: Probative Action

by

Rodford Edmiston

The Angel of Chicago

Part Fifteen: Detonations

by

Rodford Edmiston

They descended through the thick pour of concrete and steel into the cold, dank chamber. Domino's light did little to dispel the shadows in spite of the small space. There, in the center, on a stand, was the bomb.

"It's smaller than I was expecting," said Domino, sounding relieved.

One reason I didn't set this in the Masks universe was I wanted to explore a different set of circumstances behind people with powers. Part of that difference is that this world is darker than the Masks world. The villains are savvier, the crooked politicians more successful, the press less fair. The differences have been minor so far. Be warned that the next few segments will be pretty dark.

The Angel of Chicago

Part Thirteen: A Hand Forced

by

Rodford Edmiston

The Angel of Chicago

Part Eleven: Rescue

by

Rodford Edmiston

The two combatants paused, both panting and sweating. After several minutes of hard fighting, Halberd was all the more furious that his opponent was holding his own, despite his certainty that he was the superior. Crunch must be cheating, somehow! As he had in all of his formal matches! How else could he be champion?!

The Angel of Chicago

Part Nine: Conclusions

by

Rodford Edmiston

"Did you get any sleep?" asked Arielle, the next morning, as she entered the kitchen and found Melody still where she had left her the night before.

"A few hours," said Melody, barely not yawning. "Your father insisted."

"You've been at this nearly twenty-four hours!"